Orla T. Muldoon

The role of personality and self-efficacy in the selection and retention of successful nursing students: A longitudinal study

AIM This paper is a report of a study to examine the role of personality and self-efficacy in predicting academic performance and attrition in nursing students. BACKGROUND Despite a considerable amount of research investigating attrition in nursing students and new nurses, concerns remain. This particular issue highlights the need for a more effective selection process whereby those selected are more likely to complete their preregistration programme successfully, and remain employed as Registered Nurses. METHOD A longitudinal design was adopted. A questionnaire, which included measures of personality and occupational and academic self-efficacy, was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the study. At the end of the programme, final marks and attrition rates were obtained from university records for a total of 350 students. The data were collected from 1999 to 2002. FINDINGS Individuals who scored higher on a psychoticism scale were more likely to withdraw from the programme. Occupational self-efficacy was revealed to be a statistically significant predictor of final mark obtained, in that those with higher self-efficacy beliefs were more likely to achieve better final marks. Extraversion was also shown to negatively predict academic performance in that those with higher extraversion scores were more likely to achieve lower marks. CONCLUSION More research is needed to explore the attributes of successful nursing students and the potential contribution of psychological profiling to a more effective selection process.

Gender, gender roles and completion of nursing education: a longitudinal study

The current worldwide nursing shortage and high attrition of nursing students remain a challenge for the nursing profession. The aim of this paper was to investigate how key psychological attributes and constructions differentiate between completers and non-completers of nursing education. A questionnaire including measures of gender role identity and perceived gender appropriateness of careers was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the course. At the end of the programme attrition rates were obtained. The findings indicate that males were more likely to leave the course than females. Furthermore, those who completed the course tended to view nursing as more appropriate for women, in contrast to the non-completers who had less gender typed views. The female-dominated nature of nursing, prevalent stereotypes and gender bias inherent in nursing education seem to make this an uncomfortable place for males and those with less gendered typed views. Whilst it is acknowledged that attrition is undoubtedly a complex issue with many contributing factors, the nursing profession need to take steps to address this bias to ensure their profession is open equally to both female and male recruits.

Social dominance in context and in individuals: Contextual moderation of robust effects of social dominance orientation in 15 languages and 20 countries.

We tested the internal reliability and predictive validity of a new 4-item Short Social Dominance Orientation (SSDO) scale among adults in 20 countries, using 15 languages (N = 2,130). Low scores indicate preferring group inclusion and equality to dominance. As expected, cross-nationally, the lower people were on SSDO, the more they endorsed more women in leadership positions, protecting minorities, and aid to the poor. Multilevel moderation models showed that each effect was stronger in nations where a relevant kind of group power differentiation was more salient. Distributions of SSDO were positively skewed, despite use of an extended response scale; results show rejecting group hierarchy is normative. The short scale is effective. Challenges regarding translations, use of short scales, and intersections between individual and collective levels in social dominance theory are discussed.

Adolescents' perceptions of national identification and socialization: A grounded analysis

This paper examines the perceived influence of parents and family and the construction of national and religious identification amongst adolescents theoretically sampled from along the border between the Irish Republic and the Northern Ireland. Two hundred and sixty-one young people wrote essays on the meaning of their national identity and the influence of parents, families and the border on national and religious identities. Lengthy and detailed responses were subjected to a grounded analysis. Results revealed the complexity of young peoples identification processes and their opinions and experiences of religious and national socialization. The majority of respondents attached a great deal of significance to their national identity. Identity was represented across a range of meanings including sport, government policy, culture, folklore and characteristics thought typical of a given nationality. Diversity was valued though national and religious categories were defined exclusively. Parents and family were viewed as important sources of socialization and the intergenerational transmission of identity was viewed as natural and inevitable. There was a widespread belief that national and religious identity overlapped and though many asserted that religion could promote tolerance and inclusion there was an implicit acceptance that it could also fuel intergroup hostilities.

Self Perception in Overweight and Obese Children: A Cross Sectional Study

AIM The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between obesity and self-esteem in children in relation to specific domains of their self-perception, and further to explore the extent to which this may vary by gender and economic circumstances. METHOD A total of 211 children aged 8-9 years drawn from both advantaged and disadvantaged areas of Belfast completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children and measures of body mass index were obtained. RESULTS Overweight, impoverished children had significantly reduced social acceptance and physical competence scores. Boys had significantly lower scores than girls in the behavioural conduct domain. Girls had significantly lower scores than boys for the athletic competence. CONCLUSION These results suggest that risk factors of increased weight and impoverished backgrounds have a combined negative effect, placing some children at increased risk of having lower self-perceptions in some, but not all domains. Health interventions for childhood obesity should consider the likelihood of specific relationships between physical and psychosocial factors.

Children's Experience and Adjustment to Political Conflict in Northern Ireland

Despite the prolonged nature of political conflict in Northern Ireland, the extent of childrens experience of such violence has rarely been investigated. This study examines school-age (8-11 years) childrens (N = 689) self-reported experience of a number of negative life events, including a number of conflict-related events in relation to gender, age, socioeconomic status, and religious affiliation. These reports suggest that childrens experience of conflict-related events is considerable. One quarter of the sample had witnessed shootings and street riots. Main and interaction effects were observed that related childrens reported experiences to gender, religious affiliation, and socioeconomic background. The relationship between exposure to political conflict and childrens perceived competence was also examined, while accounting for psychosocial factors that independently affect perceived competence. This analysis suggested that children reporting lower behavioural competence are more likely to repor...

Social support and mastery influence the association between stress and poor physical health in parents caring for children with developmental disabilities.

To date, much of the research linking the stress of caring for children with developmental disabilities (e.g. Autism & Down syndrome) with parental health outcomes have tended to concentrate on mental health with less attention paid to the physical health consequences. Thus, this study sought to explore the psychosocial predictors of poor physical health in these caring parents. One hundred and sixty-seven parents (109 caregivers and 58 control parents) completed measures of stress, child problem behaviours, social support, mastery and physical health. Parents of children with developmental disabilities had poorer physical health compared to control parents. Stress and mastery, but not social support and problem behaviours, were significant predictors of poor physical health within caring parents for children with developmental disabilities. However, the association between mastery and physical health was mediated by perceived stress such that those parents who were higher on mastery reported less stress and better physical health; furthermore, the association between stress and physical health was moderated by social support; those parents high on social support and low in stress had better physical health. These results indicate that the paths between psychosocial factors and poor physical health in the caring parents are working synergistically rather than in isolation. They also underscore the importance of providing multi-component interventions that offer a variety of psychosocial resources to meet the precise needs of the parents.

Ideological commitment, experience of conflict and adjustment in Northern Irish adolescents.

This study aims to assess young peoples overall experience of political conflict, as well as the extent of these experiences in relation to gender, religious affiliation and residential location (high or low conflict). Second, this study assesses the impact that young peoples ideological commitment and experiences of the conflict have on their self‐esteem and mental health. A sample of 96 Protestant and Catholic young people (mean age 15.2), drawn from four schools in two areas of Northern Ireland, completed self‐report measures of self‐esteem, mental health, ideological commitment and experience of conflict. The areas differed substantially in the amount of violence they had experienced. The results indicated that young peoples experience of violence varied in relation to the town in which they lived. Boys’ experience of violence appeared to be related to their religious affiliation. Experience of conflict and ideological commitment, two attributes that were positively related, interacted to predict both mental health and self‐esteem. The importance of ideological commitment to our understanding of the impact of political conflict on young people is discussed.

Social group membership and self-perceptions in Northern Irish children: A longitudinal study

Little is known about the changes in self-perceptions over the course of middle childhood, despite this being a crucial period for the development of the self. This study examined stability and change in children’ s self-competence and self-esteem in a two-wave longitudinal study of primary school children. The ine uence of psychosocial factors, gender, religion/ethnicity and socio-economic status (SES), on the development of self-perceptions was also examined. A sample of 110 children completed the Harter Self Perception Proe le for Children at age 8 and age 11. Analysis of these data indicated considerable stability in children’ s perceptions of themselves. At age 11, a greater variety of domain-specie c self-perceptions was predictive of global self-esteem, suggesting a more complex view of the self. Additionally, between-group differences suggested that girls’ global and athletic competence, as well as their cone dence in their physical appearance, decreased over time. Further, children from lower socio-economic backgrounds and those from the minority community in Northern Ireland (Roman Catholics) displayed less positive self-perceptions in a number of life domains at both age 11 and age 8. Discussion of these results highlights the ine uence of societal factors on children’ s social development and the need to consider the combined effects of psychosocial identities and socio-economic background on the development of the self.

Understanding the impact of political violence in childhood: A theoretical review using a social identity approach

The present paper reviews the literature that has assessed the psychological impact of political violence on children. Concern for those growing up in situations of political violence has resulted in two areas of research within psychology: the first considers children as victims of conflict and considers the mental health consequences of political violence. The second considers children as protagonists or aggressors in conflict and considers related moral and attitudinal consequences of exposure to political violence. These two literatures are most often considered separately. Here the two strands of research are brought together using a social identity framework, allowing apparently divergent findings to be integrated into a more coherent understanding of the totality of consequences for children and young people growing up in situations of armed conflict.